First, I have to confess that I am a bit skeptical towards Italian business and innovation capabilities beyond high-end clothing and accessories due to several disappointments in the past.
It does not help when I look into Telecom Italia and their initiatives on (open) innovation.
My first encounter was @NextInnovation, a Twitter account for Next Open Innovation, an open innovation initiative by Telecom Italia. I like to see corporate Twitter accounts and especially when they focus on innovation. Unfortunately, there has been no updates on @NextInnovation since Nov 18 despite the account has gathered a fairly respectable number of 741 followers.
Since the telecom industry is as international as it is, I am also surprised that this open innovation initiative is in Italian language only. Perhaps they believe there is enough value to extract in the Italian innovation community or perhaps there are some language issues involved? Nevertheless, I think you need to have an international approach to open innovation in almost any industry and this requires a site in English.
When you look at the innovation section at the corporate website, you also have a hard time taking Telecom Italia serious as an innovation partner. Most of the “latest” updates are months or even years old and there are several broken links.
I often talk about that companies need to look good – and perform well – as they compete for the best innovation partners. Telecom Italia does not look good at all. It is just plain awful.
Actually, I would really appreciate some good Italian examples on (open) innovation so I can get a better perspective on the innovation capabilities in Italy. Let me know if you can help.
